Trevor Jackson
THE Mount Gambier Lakers men returned to the court in style on the weekend, with a 115-95 win over Terang Tornadoes.
The Lakers travelled to Terang for the Round 5 Country Basketball League clash and held off a determined Tornadoes, winning all four quarters in a hard-fought contest.
Only four points separated the two sides in a high-scoring opening term, where the Lakers banged on 30 points.
They repeated that effort in the second term and extended the lead after the Tornadoes could only add 21 points as the Lakers began to hit their straps.
The Tornadoes lifted the intensity in the third term, but still could not contain the visitors, as the Lakers put on a further 28 points, to Terang’s 25.
Down the stretch Mount Gambier simply went about its work and again won the term, with a solid result on the back of some big personal scores.
Simon Berkefeld was back in action and wasted no time finding form, with a game-high 35 points to his name.
Ben Young was also impressive, with 29 points, mostly from inside and just three triples thrown in.
Matthew Berkefeld chimed in with 22 points and playing coach Kane deWit rounded out the double-figure scorers with 19.
DeWit said he was pleased with the result against a persistent opponent considering the side was short staffed, with several of their starters not making the trip.
“They didn’t really stop, they just kept coming at us all game,” he said.
“It was good for us to keep us sharp, but not great when we don’t have many numbers.
“We had a couple of Under 18s fill in who had already played three games that day in the Warrnambool tournament and we only had seven in total.”
DeWit noted the performance of Simon Berkefeld in his first game back.
“He played very well,” he said.
“He was getting wide open and a lot of back cuts.
“I think they must have forgotten about him for some reason because he didn’t play the first few weeks.
“He just came out and lit it up.”
Young was again a top performer and deWit said it was pleasing to see him improving at just 17 years-of-age.
“He is playing really well and shooting the ball really well at the moment,” he said.
“He is a bit of a surprise because he is stronger than he looks.
“He is young and I think they underestimate him a bit.”
Baron and Wright filled in after their games in the Warrnambool junior tournament and deWit said it was pleasing to see how well they slotted into the side not knowing the exact plays.
The Lakers will now face Warrnambool this weekend back at the Icehouse, with deWit keen to see how his side goes with close to a full squad on hand.
